president obama has called top congressional leaders to a 3:00 p.m. meeting at the white house but lile indication of even a short term plan to avoid major tax hikes and spending cuts from automatically kicking in on january 1st. markets are worried about what happens to the economy early next year. business leaders also want president obama to keep the nation's sports operating if doc workers walk off the jobs on sunday. a strike by 14,000 longshoremen could cripple the flow of goods throughout ports in newark and port elizabeth up in the new jersey area and more than a dozen other u.s. ports. right now, the federally-mediated contract talks appear at a stalemate and no comments from the white house on if the president will use his authority to impose a cooling-off period. meanwhile, we got more good news on housing. pending home sales rose last month to their highest level in 2 1/2 years. according to the national association of realtors and pending home sales are up, 9.8% in the last 12 months. keith, back over to you. >> that's good news. hampton